ANYHOW......seems one evening of "formal" attire is about all we can handle around here ..... by Sunday, we were back to the races ..... dirtbike races, that is ...... rainy, muddy dirtbike races ....
......like I said, it was raining and we had about an hour to wait until Matt's race started (Evan wasn't racing because of some mechanical problem with his dirtbike) .....so, I "set up shop" on the dashboard of the truck..... there's my magazine stash (Quilt Sampler, Country Living, and Somerset Life magazines) along with my snack (a chocolate peanut Go Lean Kashi bar) and a cup of tea from the concession stand (which was a much too far muddy, rainy walk from the truck resulting in wet, muddy sneakers...)
Anyhow, I was leafing through Somerset Life magazine when I spotted this article .....
....it was written by Rebecca Sower and she talks about how her 9 year old son went out for football and how the practice schedule is a bit over the top (i.e. like EVERY night for 2 hours !!! BEEN THERE !! Like her, I always thought it RIDICULOUS to be that intense about football for kids that young .... as if they were gonna win zillions of $'s for the coaches at the superbowl .....) ANYHOW, she realized in order to preserve her sanity and attempt to get something productive done during those ENDLESS hours waiting around at football practices, she decided to bring her crafting/sewing supplies with her ...... BUT, she also wanted her carrying case for those supplies to also be creative and pretty, so she fixed up a vintage train case for the purpose (it's pictured there on the left page of the article ..... isn't it pretty !!! and so creative the way she has everything set up !!!) Well, being a veteran of soccer practices, knee hi football practices, little league baseball practice, knee hi wrestling practices, high school wrestling tournaments, and now all day dirtbike races, I too have my "carrying case" for my "hurry up and wait" projects ..... and here it is ....
....a large size ziploc bag ..... complete with a sandwich size ziploc bag inside to keep my scissors, needlecase and thread together (fancy, huh!!) ..... definately not as pretty as Rebecca's, but in these EXTREME conditions, practical (i.e. water and mud proof) wins out over pretty ....because did I mention that it was raining and very .......
.......MUDDY !!!!!! (that's my foot and Evans' great big foot .... stuck in the mud)
Anyhow, back to my EXTREME quilting project ....
....in Extreme quilting, you have to be able to balance everything on your lap because if it falls on the floor of the truck ..... mud .... and lots of it!!! Anyhow, this is my dirtbike race hand piecing project that I also blogged about last summer in this post
Well, now that quilting "travel kit" isn't the only travel kit you need for Extreme sports/Extreme quilting ...... here's another one .....
....yep....hand sanitizer and tissues .... because now that we've spent the last hour reading our magazines, stitching on a quilt and SIPPING TEA while the rain was pouring on the windshield of the truck, we now have to leave the semi dry and semi clean truck and slop through the mud and muck to .....
......."The Best Seat in Town"
......YUCK!! ...it really wasn't (the best seat in town) but when you're out of options, like they say, any port in a storm!!!!!
......glad I had the tissues (no toilet paper) and the hand sanitizer !!!( I just wanted to dump that stuff ALL OVER MY BODY after using "the best seat in town"!!
OK, so it was FINALLY time for Matt's race ......
here he is, all nice and clean , right before he heads to the track.....
....and here he is coming in on his final lap ....
MUD MAN !!! (actually, they all looked like this half way through their FIRST lap, so it was pretty hard to tell who was who!!)
..... and here he is after he chipped the mud away enough to get his helmet off....
..."hey Mom .... do I have something on my face?"
Of course, AFTER the race was over, it stopped raining and the sun came out ......
Now, I'm thinking I should submit this post to Somerset Life magazine .... I noticed in the back of the magazine they had an article "How to get published in Somerset Life". It says they are looking for stories "that offer simple and accessible ideas that transform ordinary moments into extraordinary ones, and infuse art and beauty into all facets of life" ...... Well..... I'll bet nobody attempted to "infuse art and beauty" into a dirtbike race ....until now!!! First of all .... the "hurry up and wait" quilting project in it's own fancy carrying case qualifies as art and beauty (if you squint your eyes and look from real far away ....) ; next, that "best seat in town" was a lovely shade of blue .... maybe I could hang a pretty wreath on the door or something to spiff it up a bit more ....; BUT, the real beauty of that dirtbike race was the fact that Matt finished the race with only a minor (we hope) shoulder injury ......and ...... how about that RAINBOW !!!! (talk about your art and beauty !!!! ..... I'll have to order one of those for every dirtbike race !!)
OK .... got TONS of mud to clean off of EVERYTHING !!! Be back soon!!
Toodles,
Mary Anne (aka Mare)
10 comments:
What a lovely rainbow and what a muddy son! Oh my! I thought 3 year olds were messy with spaghetti.
Oh Mare, you are a trouper! I would actually read Somerset magazine if they published posts like this. I know it's amazing but I have a travel craft case very similar to yours. I think my large bag is a sliding zipper type though. Now we know it stands up to all kinds of weather!
I think I would have been more keen on going to prom myself if I could have worn a tux like Matt's. Sweet. Get yourself cleaned up and put that tiara on girl. You deserve it after all that. Love Stacy
Mare,
I'm sorry, I can't stop laughing! That is a great post!! Bless your heart. You need to see if GermX comes in a gallon bottle for those dirt bike events! Being the girly-girl that I am, I think I would have been bathing in the GermX following the visit to the "outhouse". I must ask...why wasn't Miss Kitty parked on the dashboard? Is she still recovering from prom night? You captured an awesome rainbow photo!
This is such a beautiful, and also funny, muddy post.
You should deffinitely send this photo into Somerset magazine. The rainbow is so gorgeous, it brought tears to my eyes.
Your craft case is perfect for you! Knowing me, though, I would accidentally drop my hand quilting project into the mud or something stupid like that.
I love the picture of the rainbow, and the one's of Muddy Matt are priceless!
What a great, great post - love the way you write. And the best seat in town - I was crying I was laughing so hard!! Matt's tux is the best, he looks like so much fun. And what boy wouldn't love all that mud! You are a great mom!
My son got a gleam in his eye when I showed him the before & after pics of your son...yikes! something to look forward to!
I love that you tote your chic zippy pouch to these events and even tho it may not be Somerset-Life-worthy, you still make a sweet quilt block--it's gorgeous!
You crack me up. I think you should submit the Mud Man pic and the Mom do I have something on my face pic to a magazine.
What a great post!! Too funny - I have often thought of the porta-potty as "the best seat in town", because it's so far from it! Your extreme quilting kit may not be fancy-schmancy like the one in the magazine, but it's a lot smarter. Gotta keep your project as dry as possible, right? Yes ma'am!
Love the photo of Mud Man, too. Thanks for sharing your day!
Did you tell him his face had NOTHING on it at all? LOL!!!
Love your travel sewing bag. We really need to do something about that dont we? LOL!!!
Was that ambulance parked behind the porta potty just in case YOU fell in????
What a great, positive attitude you have for living! Just love your blog - a surprise at every corner. I was laughing out loud with "the best seat in town." Thanks so much for sharing your viewpoint.
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